Do I not
rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live? – Ezekial
18:21-28
Jesus said
to his disciples, “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew
5:20-26
As humans,
we like to go by the numbers. We ‘play the game of life’ and ‘score points’
with God. But I have learned He does not work this way. I am either
going in the right or wrong direction and any deeds done in the past will
not alter my course. However, I can turn around and walk in the right direction
by changing my heart. And when I choose to do so, God forgets the past. I am
able to receive God’s forgiveness and mercy wholeheartedly.
Mercy is
not a one-way street. It is more like a spiral inviting me to give it as well.
The root of the word, mercy, is merc, which means commerce or
merchant. There is an implication of exchange in the word and action. I
remember the relief I felt when I forgave my father for being an alcoholic.
Although I thought it was too late because he had already passed, I was
mistaken. He came to me in a dream filled with light and we embraced one
another in reconciliation. Suddenly, I realized that he knew my forgiveness and
mercy. It is like what Shakespeare said:
“The quality
of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth
as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the
place beneath. It is twice
blest;
It blesseth
him that gives and him that takes…”
The image of
rain from heaven is perfect. After the rain waters the earth, it returns
to the sky as water vapor and repeats the cycle of blessing.
Water
All the
water on earth
has always
been on earth
or in
earth’s atmosphere,
they say;
a circle of
living water
giving life
to the earth
and finding
renewal in the sky.
Do I cool my
feet in
water from
Jacob’s well?
Do I bathe
in water that
baptized
Jesus?
Do I drink a
tear
That Mary
wept
at the foot
of the cross?
Sharon
Sullivan
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